Posts Tagged ‘Daihatsu’

The nationwide used car dealer, Gulliver, recently set up a new venture called Gulliver Minicle, which deals only in kei-jidosha, often referred to as minicars in English, though here we like to call them K-cars, which make up a separate class of automobile. The engine displacement can’t be more than 660cc, and they were developed in the ’60s and ’70s for people with limited incomes.

When K-cars first appeared the engines were as small as 360cc, and have always been a point of contention for the U.S. automobile industry, which describes them as a “non-tariff trade barrier” because taxes for K-cars have been much less than they are for regular cars and thus are deemed as being unfair competition for infamously larger American cars — though it should be noted that U.S. automakers have tried to sell compacts in Japan.

K-cars have always had one glaring drawback. Because the engine is so small, they have to be light, and that means they are less safe. Consequently, families don’t buy them; or, at least, they didn’t until recently.

Gulliver’s launch of a retail entity that only sells used K-cars shows that there must be a viable market, since K-cars are already cheap and Japanese people aren’t big used car buyers. So far there is only one Minicle, in Morioka, and it has about 50 cars on display divided into three sizes: S, M and L, like apparel.

According to an article about the store in the Asahi Shimbun, there really isn’t much difference in the sizes, but the designations appeal to women, who are now the main target demographic for K-cars. There is even a play space in the store where kids can relax while mom is shopping for new wheels.

Gulliver is already planning Minicle stores in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kyushu and the San’in region, and by 2018 expects to have about a dozen throughout Japan, mainly in the vicinity of regional capitals and not so much in the big three metropolitan areas.

In December, the Japan Light Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Association estimated that 2.1 million K-cars would be sold in Japan during 2013, a new record. In contrast, sales of all other cars amounted to about 3 million. So while sales of minicars increased by 4.8 percent over 2012, sales of other cars decreased by 5.3 percent.

As a portion of all car sales, Ks increased by 2.4 points to 39.3 percent. The only other automotive sector that showed more growth was foreign (read: German) cars, whose sales increased by 9 percent, also a record. And in terms of production by Japanese automakers, 40 percent are now K-cars.

The obvious reason for the popularity of minicars is their price, but they’ve always been cheap. It’s their reason for existing in the first place. Some say that people bought them last year because the K-car tax is set to be eliminated sometime this year, but a more likely reason is increased safety and functionality.

More than a year ago, Daihatsu started selling a new version of its Move model that uses sensors to automatically reduce speed when it gets too close to the car in front of it. Though it’s offered as an option at ¥50,000, more than 80 percent of the buyers order it. In succession, similar options were added by Suzuki to its popular Wagon R model, for ¥42,000, and by Honda to its N-WGN model.

A Honda representative told Asahi that since 64 percent of K-car drivers are women, this option was incorporated specifically to attract them. A good portion of K-cars are bought as second cars, for shopping and shlepping the kids around. In the past, these women bought compact cars, but they’re switching over to Ks.

Nissan and Daihatsu have upped the ante by also offering windshields that cut ultraviolet rays, something else women demand. In addition, K-cars now have much roomier interiors than in the past and larger cargo areas. In truth, there isn’t much difference, performance-wise, between a K and a standard compact.

Some experts say that the U.S. Trade Representative’s gripe about Ks is actually a means of keeping pressure on other sectors, generating leverage to open Japan’s agriculture and insurance markets more, for example. Also, it gives the American government an excuse to maintain its own tariff to protect the U.S. truck market from low-priced Japanese imports.

Two weeks ago, on the same day that it didn’t cover the huge anti-nuclear power demonstration in Tokyo, NHK’s 7 o’clock news bulletin had a feature about Daihatsu’s new small car, the Mira e:s (pronounced “ease”). Initially, we saw the report as further proof of the public broadcaster’s retreat from its traditional aversion to anything smacking of commercial promotion; but in the days since then we’ve come to realize that the announcement was newsworthy as more than just a financial story.

The e:s is the latest model in the Mira K-car series. K-car, as in kei (light), are automobiles made specifically for the Japanese market. The name refers to the engine displacement, which is only 660 cubic centimeters. Consequently, the weight and size are smaller than standard automobiles, which is why many people believe them to be unsafe. Because K-cars are very small and have to be lightweight, they tend to crumple easily in accidents. But they are also low-priced and get high gasoline mileage. What makes the e:s noteworthy is its even lower price–¥795,000–and even higher gas mileage–30 kilometers per liter based on JCO8 mode testing methodology. That’s almost a 40 percent improvement in mileage over previous Mira models owing to e:s’s lighter body structure and smoother transmission function. As a result, Daihatsu is marketing it as the “third eco car” after the all-electric vehicle and the hybrid. For comparison, Toyota’s best-selling Prius hybrid gets 32. 6 km/l and Honda’s Fit hybrid 26km/l.

Daihatsu hopes to sell 10,000 e:s per month, which seems quite feasible since Daihatsu is already the number one maker of K-cars in Japan (but not K-trucks). The company unloaded 341,000 during the first eight months of the year, though one of the main reasons for the robust sales was the March 11 disaster. K-cars are particularly popular in rural areas, where automobiles are a necessity and many families own more than two. Because people use them every day and for every sort of task, economy is the main consideration. Not only do they use less fuel, but the excise/weight taxes and insurance are much cheaper (though they are subject to a special Light Motor Vehicle Tax), maintenance costs are lower and owners in rural areas usually aren’t required to offer proof of a parking space for K-cars at the time of registration. According to the Japan Mini Vehicles Association, 43 percent of the automobiles registered in the Tohoku region before the March 11 disaster were K-cars. In the prefectures that align along the Japan Sea, the portion of K-cars often tops 50 percent, and in Okinawa it’s 53 percent. Many automobiles were destroyed in the earthquake and tsunami, and the demand for used cars, used K-cars in particular, soared as a result. A friend of ours who lives in Osaka just sold her 10-year-old K-car to a broker for ¥50,000. Usually with a car that old the owner has to pay the broker to haul it away.

In fact, K-cars have kept Japan’s domestic automotive industry stable in the past year. After the end of the government’s eco point system, sales of regular cars dropped, but K-car sales have been steady all along. And since they use less parts they were less adversely affected by the supply shortage caused by the March 11 disaster. Even Toyota is coming out with a K-car. Japan’s number one automaker never entered the field mainly because it has a 51 percent controlling interest in Daihatsu. But the market is too good to pass up right now, and the future holds at least some promise. Women are more likely to buy K-cars, and unlike the current demographic of over-70 women, who don’t drive at all, boomer women all drive and will likely continue to do so well into old age. The sunnier outlook for Daihatsu is exemplified by the company’s ad campaign for e:s, which features Bruce Willis making fun of himself as a celebrity shill. Only a company with supreme confidence would dare draw attention to how they draw attention.